Taking pictures outdoors

[Ron Kruger]

The most important thing I’ve learned from over 30 years of outdoor photography is:
It's all about available light.
The best time to take pictures outdoors is early morning and late evening, when the sun’s rays are slanted, and the best time during that period is about an hour before sunset and an hour after sunrise. This gives soft tones, maximum contrast and vivid hues to your exposures.
One of the very best times is when the sun comes out right after a rain. Normally, though you don’t notice it, the air is full of dust, pollen and what have you. The rain clears all that away, giving your pictures more contrast and pop. It also washes dust off of vegetation, making greens greener and all the other colors more vivid and contrasting.
The exception to this is sunrise or sunset shots. That’s when you want the horizon to be loaded with foreign particles. Pollution actually makes for good sunset shots.
Especially with wide shots or landscapes, always try to have something in the foreground to add depth: a tree, bush or even a person. Personally, I think having a person in the foreground (usually shot from behind) not only adds depth to the photo, but usually adds a sense of relative identity. This also allows you to add an unusual color to the scene with clothing. Often a shirt or jacket with a very vivid color of red or blue adds pop to the whole scene.
For pictures of flowers and such, use a spray bottle of water to wash them and moisten them before shooting.
If you are taking shots during the harsh light of mid-day, or on cloudy days, fill with flash. (If your camera has an automatic “flash-fill” setting, all the better.)
Experiment with backlighting, either natural or artificial. Anyone can shoot with the sun behind them, but backlit shots are more dramatic.
Take multiple exposures of the same scene, then edit.
And the most important thing (which also applies to most other forms of photograph), is get close. Then get a little closer. Then get a little closer. Macro if you can. When we look at something, our mind’s eye naturally concentrates upon the most important part of our field of vision, while ignoring the rest. A camera lense doesn’t do that, so don’t stand back and take a picture, move in and record a moment. Crop out as much unnecessary detail as possible.
By the way, check out the pictures of n8trboy for most excellent examples of landscape photography.

[sjasis]

All very good advice, thanks!

[Garooch]

Thanks for the tips